Artūras Paulauskas

Artūras Paulauskas ( listen? / I ) ( born August 23, 1953 in Vilnius) is a Lithuanian politician. It was from autumn 2000 until April 13, 2006 Chairman of the Seimas, the Lithuanian parliament - interrupted from 6 March to 12 July 2004 when he provided the official business of the Lithuanian President in this capacity by the Constitution because an interim basis.

Career

Artūras Paulauskas ended 1971 in Šiauliai second middle school and began studying law at the Law Faculty of the University of Vilnius. After finishing my studies in 1976, he worked in the prosecutor's office of the Lithuanian town Kaišiadorys. In 1982, he became the first prosecutor in the county Varėna and deputy shortly before the end of the Soviet Union Attorney-General of the Lithuanian SSR ( 1987-1990).

As the independent Republic of Lithuania had to occupy the newly created institutions with trustworthy individuals, appointed by the then Chairman of the Constituent Assembly, and Acting President, Vytautas Landsbergis, the 36 -year-old for the first Lithuanian Prosecutor General.

Political career

After he had been demoted by the transfer of power from the Conservatives to the socialists after his first term in 1995 as Deputy Attorney General and not considered by the Conservatives after their renewed takeover in 1997 for the post of Attorney General, he used his great fame and reputation by directly his retirement from government service in spring 1997 and declared his candidacy for the highest office. The / 1998 took place in the winter of 1997 presidential elections, he was defeated in the runoff only slightly ( with 14,000 votes) the candidate of the conservatives, Valdas Adamkus.

As a consequence of his statewide name recognition, he decided to continue his political activism and founded a new party, the " Naujoji Sąjunga " ( New Union), which later changed its name as " social liberals ". He was since its inception on 25 April 1998 to 15 November 2008 party chairman.

Parliament Chairman

With the image of the unconsumed and uncorrupted politician, he led the new party in the municipal elections in the spring of 2000 and then in the general election in the autumn of 2000 to third place in favor of the voters ( nearly 20% of the vote ). Along with the party of former prime minister also decried as an outsider Rolandas Paksas who joined the Liberals and this the second largest party had left, they formed a "coalition of the new policy."

Paksas became Prime Minister, Parliament Chairman Paulauskas. But soon there came a rift of the two coalition partners and Paulauskas ' Social Liberals formed a new coalition with the largest party in parliament, the Social Democrats under Algirdas Brazauskas. Paulauskas remained Parliament Chairman in succession.

He played an important role in this function in the process of impeachment of then-President Rolandas Paksas in winter 2003 /2004. Paulauskas was supplied by the Security Service of documents accompanying the President, the National Security endangering behavior accused. He gave this material on to the parliamentary groups who have decided to set up a commission of inquiry. As Parliament Chairman Paulauskas operation is active the impeachment, which was finally came in April 2004. Until the elections in July 2004, he took over as acting as President.

His political star, however, was already on the decline. Not only for the supporters of former President Paksas he became the enemy number one, with other political and social forces in the country he had been able to provide little support in the years of his political career. To escape the political death, his party joined with government partners, the Social Democrats, the election alliance A. Brazausko ir A. Paulausko koalicija 'IP darba Lietuvai "(A. Brazauskas ' and A. Paulauskas ' coalition " Working for Lithuania " ) together. Severely beaten, both parties rescued after the elections in autumn 2004 in a coalition with the Labour Party and the Agrarian Party. Paulauskas was reconfirmed as chairman of Parliament.

The fact that the forces had moved to his disadvantage, he had to learn in March 2006. An initially innocuous-looking affair of company cars in the Registry of the Parliament and other personal gain in the Office Paulauskas was doomed, because for this purpose to the political responsibility was attributed. He refused to resign voluntarily. A vote of confidence in parliament, in which many members of the ruling majority (by a working party ) turned against him, and fell on 11 April 2006 by 94 to 11 votes against (for a total of 141 deputies ) very clearly for his resignation from. After this political "treason" were social liberals from the government coalition.

In the parliamentary elections in October 2008, the end of the ruling party had finally come: 3.6% of the valid votes missed the Social Liberal Party into parliament clear ( 5 % threshold ). That Paulauskas so look for his own career ended, he made 15 November 2008 clear when he announced his resignation as party leader.

Private

Arturas has been married to his second wife Jolanta and has a daughter from this marriage, Aistė, and a son, Arnas. From his first marriage he is the father of two sons ( Andrius and Vilius ). He lives in Tarandė in Vilnius.